


360

by Lepord257



Series: Dead Men verse [6]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Wash on the Tartarus!AU, We'll get there, still no mercs, thats ok hes got his own stuff going on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-27 01:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20751794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lepord257/pseuds/Lepord257
Summary: “Guess what I - stop screaming, it’s me - guess what I found!”On a prison ship in the ass-end of nowhere, Wash gets a gift.





	360

**Author's Note:**

> Don't be fooled, I know nothing about skateboarding

Wash doesn’t notice Co missing until well after dinner. This is concerning for several reasons. The first is how it underscores how hard the panic attack this morning hit him. It’s entirely possible he wouldn’t have noticed being shoved out an airlock. The second is that Co is neither quiet nor subtle. An abrupt departure should, by all rights, be as noticeable as his entrance.

Maybe that should worry him. But he’s too tired to do anything but let his feet carry him to the showers on autopilot. Shoes, jumpsuit, undershirt. Perpetually too-cold water that jolts him awake enough that he won’t fall asleep on his way back to his cell. Footsteps behind him.

Wait a second.

“Guess what I - stop screaming, it’s me - guess what I found!”

Co doesn’t seem bothered by Wash’s glare. He’s considerably more bothered by Wash adjusting the showerhead to spray his face.

“A sense of tact,” Wash deadpans over Co’s indignant shriek.

Co backpedals straight into the benches. “Nah, it’s something that wouldn’t hamstring my ability to do my job.”

“I should have known better than to hope.”

“Yup!”

Wash rolls his eyes. Co ignores him.

“Here’s a hint: You’ll love it.”

That seems unlikely. “Hargrove's head on a platter.”

“Sorry Herodias; that’s penciled in for after we check on Amy. We _did_ kind of leave her alone with Al’s bookstore for months.”

“You’re such responsible guardians.”

“The most,” Co says, holding out a towel. Wash stares at it. “Come _ooooon!”_

Co at least has the decency to wait for wash to get his shirt on before dragging him out of the showers. They duck guards and weav between inmates until they reach an awkward alcove tucked between cell blocks pressed into service as what can only loosely be described as a stairwell - all switchbacks and strange geometry.

Al is sitting on the bottom step, something balanced on their lap. They stand up when they see Wash and Co. Wash zeros in on what they’re holding.

No way.

“Is that a skateboard?”

Years ago, he’d ridden whenever he had a free moment. As Freelancer picked up in intensity and the leaderboard was introduced and the AIs handed out, those moments dwindled. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d ridden. He’d simply put the board in his locker one day and never taken it back out.

Al holds out the board. “Yup.”

Wash takes it. “How did you-”

“It’s my Freelancer power.”

“Do not start that again.”

Co drapes himself over Wash’s shoulder. “Their other Freelancer power is never letting a joke die.”

Al snorts. “I think that’s you, actually.”

The griptape is almost worn away in places. The tail’s been ground down enough that one hard stop might be its end. The deck under the stickers has a lovingly airbrushed band logo, one he’s never heard of, chipped in some places and retouched in others.

“Where did you get this?”

Co groans. “Who _cares_; do a trick!”

Tricks. He knows tricks. Sure he hasn’t so much as looked at a board since he was twenty, but it’s like a bicycle, right? How hard could it be?

He pushes Co off him and backs up a bit before he sets the board down and steps on. It wobbles more than he remembers and he rocks a bit, feeling out the balance.

“Do a backflip!”

Yeah, no. But maybe…

Right foot in the pocket, left under the board, and-

The board goes flying. Wash comes down hard on the sides of the wheels and suddenly the ground is rushing up to meet him. There’s twin exclamations from the peanut gallery as Wash rubs at his ankle.

“Are you ok?” Al asks, leaning forward like they aren’t sure whether to rush over or not.

“I’m fine. It takes more than a fall from a skateboard to take me down.”

“I don’t know,” Co says, sings-song. “Looks like you’re down to me.”

Wash glares and doesn’t break eye contact as he retrieves the board and gets back into position. Right foot in the pocket, left under the board-

The board is under him when he comes down this time, his right one at least, but judging by the cheers it at least looked intentional.

“Grind on the handrail!”

“Oh my God.”

But Wash is already halfway up the stairs, Co hollering encouragements at the bottom. He’s going to fall, he knows that. But there’s cheering in his ears, a grin he doesn’t want to get rid of on his face, and his heart is racing from excitement instead of terror. Besides, if Al can find a skateboard they can find a first aid kit.

For the first time in a long time, Wash thinks he’ll be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not dead! And this isn't abandoned! I've been busy with school and also a new project!
> 
> Actually, I'm gonna shamelessly plug for it. I've been writing for a fan-made dating sim for The Penumbra Podcast called Thief of Hearts set to release October 4th. You should play it. It's good. I promise.
> 
> Hopefully I'll have more time for rvb stuff now that the scripts have been finalized, but the only promise I'm gonna make is that I want to keep writing. Next on my list is a Two Houses update, so expect that within the next month or so.
> 
> As always, my tumblr is [ivekilledmonsters](http://ivekilledmonsters.tumblr.com/) and you can hmu there if you want to talk rvb or writing


End file.
